


Market Day

by TheGreatLibraryFangirl (Mazeem)



Category: The Great Library Series - Rachel Caine
Genre: Canon Compliant, Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25422901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mazeem/pseuds/TheGreatLibraryFangirl
Summary: A brief ficlet:Jess and Anit are getting their new venture off the ground, and his friends just want to show their support!(And buy books.)"Jess dragged his forearm across his damp forehead. His skin was hot and probably sunburnt. Alexandrian summer was close to unbearable, but he was just glad to be out of his bloody sick-bed at last."
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Market Day

ORIGINALS FROM THE GREAT ARCHIVE! blared the banner above Jess' head. YOURS TO OWN FOREVER!

"That's misleading," he'd said to Anit when he'd turned up at the stall. "We're not giving them the actual Archive originals."

She'd shrugged. "Close enough."

And close enough it seemed to be, because their market stall had been busy all morning. Jess had lost count how many copies of the ever-a-classic _The_ _Illaid_ he'd sold. 

"We should do different versions of this," he said under his breath to Anit, as he turned to put a heavy handful of coins into the strongbox. "Something fancier. charge more." He dragged his forearm across his damp forehead. His skin was hot and probably sunburnt. Alexandrian summer was close to unbearable, but he was just glad to be out of his bloody sick-bed at last. 

Anit gave him an amused little sideways look. She wasn't even perspiring in the heat. "Expensive versions, absolutely. I've already sent an order back for a couple of hundred; fine leather, gilding, maybe something shiny embedded."

Of course she had. Anit had the head for business that he'd always resisted being taught. 

The skills that Brendan had needed to learn instead. 

He yanked his mind away from the shadow of that thought -

(from the thought of his shadow)

\- and said, "What about different languages?" over his shoulder, as he turned back to the next customer, a tiny figure wrapped head to foot in a dark niqab and floor length dress.

Anit's face lit up. She looked so young when that happened. It made his heart ache. "I hadn't thought of that. Perfect."

Translations existed, of course, but generally only in the main languages of historic library influence; Greek, Latin, Arabic, English, Hindi. 

Automatically Jess held out his hand for the printed copy of Arabic poetry that the customer was holding out, but his attention stayed on Anit as he had another go at saying something impressive. "See if Wolfe wants to help. Translating Homer seems like a Scholarly job."

The Tarjuman al-Ashwaq by Ibn al-Arabi. He skimmed the list in his head. There was a physical price list somewhere, but he and Anit were competing to manage without it. They'd both been trained by the same childhoods methods - they knew title value, they knew how to memorise. 

"Is he keeping you waiting? Forgive us, sister, let me look that up for you ..."

Jess blinked, glancing from Anit to the customer in front of him. Anit's tone was flustered, under the surface where it wasn't obvious. Sister? Cousin, he could have understood, they'd already sold to, threatened and fielded several cousins from the old trade, but sister? Anit didn't have - 

Then he met the customer's eyes. Soft brown, crinkled in a smile that he knew so well he didn't need to see it. 

A taller figure behind her, at her elbow. Of course. 

For a brief, warm moment he experienced delight, then reality came crashing back in. 

"What are you doing here?" he demanded in a fierce whisper. 

"Joining the rest of Alexandria, of course, in starting a collection of printed books." Khalila's tone was almost child-like in its excitement, and even as she spoke her gaze left his to wander the array of books separating them. 

His chest drew tight with panic. They didn't even have any guards. Six months of military training had only heightened his childhood life-or-death ability to spot High Garda on the horizon, and there were definitely none here.

With futile hope, he glanced around to check if Wolfe and Santi were around. They had turned up earlier. Wolfe had bought four books and told Jess that his nose was indeed burning.

There had already been multiple attempts on Archivist Khalila Seif's life, and this was just handing them another chance on a fucking silver platter. 

He looked over her head to the man stood behind her, and glared and raised his eyebrows. Overprotective Dario - how had he agreed to this?

Dario shrugged and spread his hands. "We won't take up your time for long, will we, dear?" His voice was pitched at a normal volume, which, Jess thought distantly, was probably why Dario had gone for an endearment that he'd never used before. 

"Yes, yes, we'll be quick," Khalila muttered, with her nose buried in a celestial mechanics text, Newcomb's Tables of the Sun. Jess wasn't surprised she'd picked that one out - it had been part of her advanced studies in postulancy.

Anit wormed past him and told Khalila the price of the poetry book, holding her hand out while Jess just stared and struggled to breathe normally. 

They had disguised themselves quite well, he had to admit. Khalila's face was almost entirely hidden apart from her eyes, and Dario was dressed in a plain, work-ready outfit with a floppy hat. His fingers were bare of either his fanily signet ring or his engagement ring. His beard was terrible; scraggly and patchy, and if Jess hadn't seen him just yesterday he would have believed it to be real. 

"I could have brought you the book list. Or, you _know_ we set up in the Thoth Lighthouse garden at the end of every week to catch the Scholars as they head home." He coughed. It didn't help. 

"But where's the fun in that? Ooh, look ..." Khalila slid Dario a book, cover down, spine away from Jess, but he had watched most of these books be bound and had set them all out in their piles at three o'clock that morning, and he knew that anthology of erotic Latin poetry when he saw it. 

Distracted for a brief moment, he raised his eyebrows again at Dario and watched the flush on his friend's face belie his defiant, proud expression. 

"Flower," Dario said, bending low to speak more softly into Khalila's ear, "we're worrying Jess."

"Oh." Khalila's eyes finally left the books to frown with concern at Jess. "It's all right." Her hand sneaked, lightning fast, across the table to squeeze his and retreat again. "We'll be off. I don't want to ruin your day." She smiled again. "Please do send me the entire list?"

"Of course," Anit said instead of Jess, packing all of Khalila's choices into paper bags. "Peace be upon you, my sister."

Khalila bobbed her head. "Blessings of your gods upon you."

Dario waved as they left, but Jess couldn't so much as twitch in response. He felt tightly wound, and longed to have a street to flee along to work it off. Longed more to see them both safely ensconced within Library walls again. 

"Jess." Anit stared at him. "Go and stack books. You'll scare the customers. And have a drink of water!" she called as he moved past her. 

To Jess' surprise, Katja swept into the back of the marquee where he was chucking books around with less reverence than he should have been showing, and coughing his lungs out. 

"They got into a carriage at the end of the street," she told him. "No-one even glanced at them."

"Oh." He stared at her and felt himself turning even redder and hotter. Had his concern been that obvious?

"The Red Lady thought you might like the peace of mind." Katja leaned against the corner of a large upright box. "They were both armed, though. The Archivist had a dagger up either sleeve and her Scholar had a fake-tarnished sword at his belt."

"Wouldn't have stopped a sniper. Or Greek fire. Or just a crowd." Jess swallowed. He tasted nothing at the back of his throat, dammit, there was nothing to taste!

"True." Katja shrugged, then shifted her posture. "I want to know where he got that fake beard from, mind you."

Jess blinked. "Yes, it was good, wasn't it? I'll ask."

Katja gave him a satisfied nod and strode out. He couldn't help watch her legs and arse as she walked away. 

He carried on stacking books for a while, trying to calm himself down. Everyone was safe.

Their future continued to unfold in new and surprising directions. 


End file.
